U.S. patent number 4,605,140 [Application Number 06/773,992] was granted by the patent office on 1986-08-12 for tube closure member having toggle action.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Motors Corporation. Invention is credited to Mark A. Koors.
United States Patent |
4,605,140 |
Koors |
August 12, 1986 |
Tube closure member having toggle action
Abstract
A toggle-action end plug for a carrier tube used in transporting
unmounted semiconductor packages.
Inventors: |
Koors; Mark A. (Kokomo,
IN) |
Assignee: |
General Motors Corporation
(Detroit, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
25099922 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/773,992 |
Filed: |
September 9, 1985 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/233; 215/358;
220/DIG.19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
39/12 (20130101); H05K 13/0084 (20130101); Y10S
220/19 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
39/00 (20060101); B65D 39/12 (20060101); H05K
13/00 (20060101); B65D 053/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/233,234,DIG.19
;217/108,110 ;215/358,359,362 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hall; George T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Tung; Randy M.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A closure member used to close the aperture of an integrated
circuit package carrier tube having side walls, said closure member
having a central body manually operable surrounded on three sides
by a rib member, a plurality of toggle means operatively
interconnecting said central body and said rib member, said rib
member having a surface on the outer periphery for frictionally
engaging the side walls of said aperture, said toggle means being
operable permitting said central body to move linearly relative to
said rib member simultaneously forcing said protuberances to
frictionally engage the side wall surface, said rib member having
stop means limiting the axial movement of said rib member, whereby
said central body causes said toggle means to laterally expand said
rib member achieving the desired closure function.
2. A closure member used to close the aperture of an integrated
circuit package carrier tube having side walls, said closure member
having a central body manually operable surrounded on three sides
by a rib member, a plurality of toggle means operatively
interconnecting said central body and said rib member, said rib
member having a plurality of protuberances on the outer periphery
for frictionally engaging the side walls of said aperture, said
toggle means being operable permitting said central body to move
linearly relative to said rib member simultaneously forcing said
protuberances to frictionally engage the side wall surface, said
rib member having stop means limiting the axial movement of said
rib member, said rib member having two side portions and an end
portion which end portion providing a stop to limit the axial
movement of said central body to provide a desired final position
of said toggle means, whereby said central body causes said toggle
means to laterally expand said rib member to perform the desired
closure function.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a closure member for an
integrated circuit package carrier tube and, more particularly, is
concerned with a closure member having manually operated toggle
action for an integrated circuit package carrier tube.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the manufacturing of a semiconductive electronic device, the
most important element in the device is the integrated circuit
chip. An integrated circuit chip is a very fragile and delicate
part which can be easily damaged during handling and processing.
One of the usual and accepted methods of protecting an integrated
circuit chip from damage is to encase an integrated circuit chip
inside a thermoset plastic by a molding process. After the
encasement process, the body portion of the integrated circuit chip
is protected from damage during handling and processing. However,
the connecting leads used to connect the integrated circuit chip to
other circuitry are still exposed around the periphery of the
molded plastic case.
The plastic encased integrated circuit chip which I shall refer to
as an integrated circuit package hereon forth is frequently
transported in between work stations at a manufacturing plant. To
protect the connecting leads from being broken off, being bent or
otherwise being damaged during transportation, a plastic container
in the shape of a substantially rectangular cross-sectioned tube is
conveniently used to store integrated circuit packages. Both ends
of the tube are left open when the tube is manufactured to allow
insertion or removal of packages from either end. The ends must be
plugged by using a closure member to contain the integrated circuit
packages. A snug fit between the plug and the inside wall of the
plastic tube is important such that integrated circuit packages
cannot push the closure member out of the tube end and subsequently
fall out of the tube handling and during transportation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an
inexpensive and reliable closure member to enclose to aperture of
an integrated circuit package carrier tube.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an
inexpensive and reliable closure member for closing the aperture of
an integrated circuit package carrier tube which can be inserted
and removed with relative ease.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
My novel invention is a closure member used to close the aperture,
or opening, of an integrated circuit package carrier tube. This
closure member is commonly known as an end plug. It has a central
body which is manually operable and surrounded on three sides by a
rib member having an U-shape. A plurality of toggles operatively
interconnects the central body and the rib member together. The rib
member has either a smooth surface or a number of protuberances on
the outer peripheral surface to frictionally engage the inside
walls of the aperture. An important feature of the invention is the
design of the toggle means which permits the central body to move
linearly relative to the rib member and simultaneously expanding
the rib member. This expansion forces the outer peripheral surface
of the rib member to frictionally engage the inside walls of the
aperture. The rib member has two built-in stops at the two ends at
the U-shaped body to limit the axial movement of the rib member
relative to the carrier tube.
During the insertion of the closure member into the aperture of the
carrier tube, the initial force required for insertion is low
before the rib member is expanded, i.e., before the toggles being
pushed from a before-center into an over-center (or locked)
position. Once the stops on the rib member engage the end of the
carrier tube, containing exerted force on the central body pushes
the toggles to pass over their center point into a locked position
after a maximum peak force has been achieved. This locking action
of the toggles laterally expands the rib member to cause the outer
peripheral surface of the rib member to frictionally engage the
inside walls of the carrier tube. In the preferred embodiment of my
invention, numerous rib-like protuberances are molded on the outer
peripheral surface at the rib member. These protuberances further
improve the frictional engagement between the rib member and the
inside walls of the aperture.
Once the toggles are locked, a maximum peak force is again required
to push the toggles to pass over the center point into an unlocked
position in order to remove the closure member from the aperture of
the tube. This maximum peak force is much higher than the initial
insertion force which prevents the closure member being
unintentionally pushed out by the weight of the integrated circuit
packages when the carrier tube is accidentally tilted or
dropped.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a closure member and an end section
of a carrier tube prior to insertion.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the closure member in a fully
inserted position inside the end section of the carrier tube prior
to the locking of the toggles (toggles are before-center).
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the closure member in a fully
inserted position inside the end section of the carrier tube after
the toggles are locked (toggles are over-center).
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a carrier tube having a closure
member inserted therein.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a closure member and an end section
of a carrier tube after the closure member is removed from the
tube.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring initially to FIG. 1, a closure member 10 and an end
section of a carrier tube 12 is shown in a position prior to
insertion. The closure member 10 has a central body 14 which is
manually operable and surrounded on three sides by a U-shaped rib
member 16. The central body 14 consists of a tab portion 18 and a
mandrel portion 20. Six toggles 22 interconnect the mandrel portion
20 and the U-shaped rib member 16 together. The connection is made
at the connecting portion 24 of toggle 22 which has reduced
cross-sectional area.
In my preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the outer
peripheral surface of the U-shaped rib member 16 has six rib-like
protuberances 26 molded on. These protuberances 26 further improve
the frictional engagement between the U-shaped rib member 16 and
the inside walls 28 of the end of carrier tube 12. The shape of
these protuberances does not have to be rib-like. They can be one
of many suitable shapes. As a matter of fact, a smooth outer
peripheral surface, without any protuberances on rib member 16, may
also serve satisfactorily as an engaging surface. Two built-in
stops 32 are molded at the ends of the U-shaped rib member 16 to
engage the end portion 34 on the end section of carrier tube
12.
I have used polypropylene material to injection mold the closure
member. However, any other suitable material which can withstand a
flexing action at the toggles may be suitably used for the closure
member. The carrier tube I used in this invention is extruded of a
PVC material. A clear window portion 36 is co-extruded into the top
of the carrier tube such that the content of the tube can be easily
seen.
FIG. 2 shows the closure member 10 fully inserted into the end
section of carrier tube 12 until the stops 32 engage the tube end
surface 34. The insertion of the closure member can be done by
holding either tab 18 or stops 32. It is important to note that the
toggles 22 are still at a before-center position, i.e., the toggles
22 are not locked at this point. Since the toggles 22 are not
locked, i.e., the U-shaped rib member 16 is not yet expanded, a gap
remains in between the protuberances 26 and the inside wall surface
28 of the carrier tube. Therefore, the closure member 14 can be
easily inserted into the end section of carrier tube 12 until the
stops 32 engage the tube end surface 34. The insertion force
required is very low. Note that before toggles 22 are activated,
there is a distance between the end 37 of mandrel 20 and the end
portion 38 of U-shaped rib member 16.
In the final stage of the insertion, continuing force acting on tab
18 of the closure member 10 pushes the toggles 22 over-center into
a locked position. This is shown in FIG. 3. In this locked
position, the end portion 38 of the rib member 16 stops the
furtherance of mandrel 20 when the end 37 of the mandrel engages
the end portion 38. It is important to note that at this locked
position, the two side portions 40 of rib member 16 are being
pushed apart by toggles 22 to achieve a close contact at the
protuberances 26 against the inside wall 28 of the carrier tube.
One important consideration for selecting materials for the closure
member is that the material selected must be resilient enough to
withstand repeated flexing at the connecting portion 24 of toggle
22 without breaking. It is also important to note that toggles 22
are in an over-center position when they are locked.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 showing closure member
10 inside the end section of carrier tube 12 in a locked position.
In an alternate embodiment (not shown) where no protuberances are
molded on the U-shaped rib member 16, the outer peripheral surface
30 of rib member 16 would directly engage the inside wall surface
28 of the carrier tube 12 for frictional engagement.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of closure member 10 and the end
section of carrier tube 12 after closure member 10 is removed from
the carrier tube. Note that ribs 42 are built into tab 18 for
easier gripping of the closure member. It is important to note that
during the removal of the closure member from the carrier tube, a
maximum peak force is required to first unlock the toggles 22 from
an over-center position (FIG. 3) to a before-center (FIG. 2)
position. Once the toggles 22 are pulled back into an unlocked
position, closure member 10 can be easily removed from the end
section of tube 12. It is this maximum peak force required to
change the toggles from a locked position to an unlocked position
that prevents the closure member from being pushed out accidentally
by the weight of the integrated circuit packages stored inside the
carrier tube.
It is to be noted that while my preferred embodiment shows the
employment of six toggles in the closure member, any suitable
number of toggles should work equally well for my invention.
* * * * *